Author: The Girl With The Pearl

Hot off the presses: You are not a real Hunger Games collector if you’re not willing to spend your savings on a RIDICULOUSLY LARGE BOOK!

So, Tim Palen’s Photographs From The Hunger Games came out in June. And it was lovely! Though coffee table books aren’t a common thing for us, we couldn’t resist picking it up and reviewing it. You know. For science.

You’d think Tim Palen and Lionsgate and the seller, Assouline, would be happy with the solid response. NOPE! Because holy hell, they’re reportedly making an “Ultimate Edition” that kindly reminds us just how Capitol this shit is!

Are you ready for this?

The “Ultimate Edition” will reportedly be a 2-foot tall display version of the book available for $800.

Maybe we doubt because we don’t know any, but ARE THERE REALLY THAT MANY RICH ASSHOLES RELATED TO THIS FANDOM?! Lawd! We thought the $75 version was expensive! You either have you be obsessed with Hunger Games collectibles or irrationally pretentious to buy this sucker. Because who has a portion of their home that they can just dedicate to the display of an oversized photo book?!

We’d say this has to be some special order thing created for Palen, Lionsgate execs, and maybe the actors to have. BUT NO! Assouline actually sells 2-foot tall photo books, sometimes for much higher prices.

*blink blink*

Dear Assouline/Palen/Lionsgate/Whoever else is behind this, we love The Hunger Games. Really, we do. And we get that you’re rich enough to throw money at whatever you’d like. But your fandom is not so special that it requires a ridiculous “artsy” product for a niche market. We went through this with the clothing line, too.

You are not a ballet or an opera, you are a three-ring circus trying really hard to look like ballet or opera. STAWP.

Planning on buying the $800 display book? Be our guest! Fandom is a multi-billion dollar industry after all. We’ve all spent more than we probably realize on fandom. But, you know, this time you’re gonna REALIZE IT and maybe even realize that sometimes, you’re just getting suckered into unnecessary products. If you’re cool with that, cool.

We have another trailer, so you know what that means! It’s time for a Victor’s Village reaction post!

This one starts off on a bit of a sad note– You’ll notice that Them There Eyes is no longer with us. She’s stepped away from the Internet for a while to focus on some real life commitments, but we still love her to death and wish her all the best!

As for JJ and The Girl With The Pearl, We March Together with you through the glorious battlefield of fandom (See what we did there?!) And so, the reaction post goes on!

Be aware that this baby contains spoilers if you haven’t read the books! Also, there’s lots to it, so be sure to hit the “READ MORE” link if you’re viewing from the main page!

WHY ARE WE MARCHING?!

The Girl With The Pearl: Let’s start with this: The trailer has a name, which is not always something we’ve seen in the past. What do you think of We March Together?

Are we referring to this *cough* TOTALLY NATURAL marching scene?

JJ: Eh, it’s got that revolution vibe, which is good. And there is that scene of Katniss strutting down to “get” Snow. But… is does it add much to the actual trailer? Not sure. It feels like something they did to track views better online actually.

TGWTP: Being the picky bastard that I am, I couldn’t help but think about how they NEVER march together

JJ: Lol. But Paylor wants them too.

TGWTP: All these District are essentially using the same guerilla warfare tactics. No marching! Katniss sure never marched anywhere with anyone

JJ: Katniss doesn’t march with anyone, you’re right. It’s more of an afterthought of something that sounds good for trailer title.

TGWTP: It should be called We Want To March Together, then! Though it doesn’t have the same ring to it.

JJ: Marching together is for winners!

THE SNOW-DOWN

The greenhouse! The mansion in the distance! Hoooooly….

TGWTP: But I suppose the title doesn’t matter, because man… did this start with Snow’s final conversation with Katniss?!

JJ: Yes, I think they did. That’s one of the amazing thing about both the teaser and this trailer. They mush the timeline all around, yet it presents the story beautifully!

TGWTP: It’s not something non-readers would recognize, but for books fans… OOF! You can hear the raggedness of his voice, plus the image of Katniss approaching the greenhouse…

JJ: If you’ve got Donald Sutherland, use that’s man’s voice for all it’s worth. What a chilling open.

RECITING AND RECYCLING

TGWTP: And then we get Paylor, which is just so welcome. I kinda worry that characters like hers will be written off, but she’s prominent in a trailer!

Pay attention! Paylor knows what’s up!

JJ: I love that they are building her up. In the books, we don’t really see her rise because it happens away from Katniss, but I like how they’re really going to show her as a leader. Will make the ending make a lot more sense. And it was a great way to explain the plot of the movie quickly too.

TGWTP: Yes! We saw the tar before, now the people who haven’t read the books know what that’s about. And it establishes Paylor as a tactical leader.

JJ: Just in those few secs of her speech it solidifies her credibility as a leader. Good stuff

TGWTP: I did kinda laugh at the beginning of her speech though, because we get a quick look at Plutarch, Effie, and Haymitch– our only look at all three from this trailer– and it’s THE SAME CUT from the last trailer. We couldn’t find three different shots of those three?!

JJ: Yeah, bah, come on! There were a bunch of those reused shots.

TGWTP: Oh, I get that. We got plenty of recycling of scenes but that was so very obvious because it was a montage-y sequence.

THE FUTURE STARTS WITH REFERENCES OF BOOK LOVERS

JJ: But can we talk about the timing of when she talks about THE FUTURE STARTS TOMORROW.

TGWTP: YES. YES WE CAN. Because we see the future there! *flails*

The moment at which we all squealed!

JJ: That was just for us fans. Thanks to whoever cut that. You could think that was just a natural thing… but WE KNOW. A lot of the trailer has those type of fan-friendly moments. So thanks, guys!

TGWTP: Yes, somebody definitely said “Let’s throw THIS in here real quick for the big fans.”

TGWTP: And there were a couple moments where everything was combined to inflict maximum hurt, so let’s discuss those. Katniss talks about nothing good being safe while Snow is alive as she dances with Prim.

JJ: Yup, another moment taken from the teaser, but understandable since it’s the core of what she’s fighting for. And we need to make that end hurt more.

TGWTP: Gale talking about how Katniss needs to make her one shot count. URGH. That got to me.

JJ: Oooh, I didn’t pick up on that.

Tigris’ hair: Cockblocking Gale’s lines since last week

TGWTP: It’s very quick. She says she only has one shot. He says “Let’s make it count”

JJ: Oh yes, when he’s in Tigris’s shop. I was distracted by Tigris’s hair! But “making it count.” Ugh.

TGWTP: Exactly. Those are probably two different scenes (and yes, it’s Tigris!) but they’re blended for the best effect to reference Coin’s death later.

JJ: Messing with the timeline again! But it works. Then you have Peeta’s part.

TGWTP: I think it’s NO COINCIDENCE that they’re showing lizard mutts while Peeta is talking about Snow owning their deaths and how the deaths matter if Katniss defeats Snow.

JJ:“Our lives were never ours…” *tears* Finnick battling the lizards was a great shot.

The countdown is over! The trailer is here! IT IS OFFICIALLY TIME TO FLIP OUT!

It’s been two weeks since the first full Mockingjay Part 2 trailer was previewed at Comic-Con (that previous 2 minute preview was considered a “teaser”) and now, the rest of us are finally getting a glimpse of the action. And damn, is there action! We were pretty psyched with the last trailer, but Katniss and her crew have never been more intense than what we’re getting here!

With all the promotion coming out just now, sometimes we don’t totally remember that Mockingjay filming is loooooong over and the cast has since moved on and filmed other projects– Movies that will come out not longer after Mockingjay Part 2, even.

…And then, BOOM! TRAILERS!

First comes Jennifer Lawrence’s Joy.

It’s another David O. Russell collaboration (with Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro), which we like for the most part. We don’t drink the David O. Russell kool-aid quite as often as Hollywood does these days, Silver Linings Playbook was an incredible movie and we’re never totally disappointed by his films.

Argh, Jen. She’s just so good! People worried about her playing an older character, BUT NO. She’s got it just fine, thank you very much! We’ve seen her play a badass before, but this is a different kind of badass and we think it’ll be a really refreshing piece of entertainment.

The trailer also does a great job setting up the story of Joy Mangano, a single mother who slowly rose through the ranks to become a major business mogul and learned some hard lessons along the way.

Then we’ve got Liam Hemsworth in The Dressmaker.

Clearly, this is Kate Winslet’s movie. It’s a bit romantic and Hemsy is there to be the man of the hour / swoony eye candy. But damn, it works.

Observe!

We realized something about this movie that we love– It’s the first movie we can think of in which Liam seems to be portraying an actual adult. He’s been in action movies, romantic movies, crime thrillers, but he’s always been the up-and-coming kid. This time, his character looks older, acts older (from what we saw here), and nobody references him as the kid rising through the ranks. Is he actually… playing his around his own age?! IN HOLLYWOOD?! *faints*

If romantic dramas are your cup of tea, this looks like a perfectly cute film to watch. There’s some great actors in there and seeing Liam stretch himself a bit more than his previous film roles have allowed could be fun. Hell, maybe he’ll even be a plausible romantic lead this time! Not to say that he’s not plausible in a romantic coupling, just that most of the other movies he’s been in haven’t had convincing couplings from the scripting stage on.

So yes, BE EXCITED ABOUT MOCKINGJAY PART 2 stuff! But we love seeing the cast in other things too. And these trailer are kinda big deals to us!

After catching up with life and the rest of Comic-Con– because holy hell, guys, there was so much win at Comic-Con this year!— we’re finally ready to talk about that Mockingjay Part 2 panel and all its glorious moments.

If you haven’t yet (where have you been?!), watch the panel below:

And now, the lessons begin!

1. Conan O’Brien ain’t responsible for those questions!

Poor Conan! The questions he was given to ask the cast didn’t seem at all organic and contained lengthy chunks of backstory, so he kept having to throw in jokes about how he didn’t write the questions. Describing Peeta as “not Katniss’ biggest fan” after exposition about his whole situation in front of fans who clearly know the books? We’d do the same damn thing, Coco! Of course, it did result in constantly reminding fans just how staged that panel was and that’s certainly a pitfall.

2. Liam Hemsworth is slowly but surely developing a sense of humor!

You know how there are several variations of this meme?

There’s a reason Liam is always Squidward. It’s not that he didn’t has a sense of humor, he just doesn’t always come across that way. Maybe it’s the post-Miley era or maybe it’s just meeting up with old friends, but Liam was actually funny this time! He cracked jokes, he whistled the wrong theme, he giggled when fan’s swooned at him. Hopefully, this means good things for the press madness this fall!

3. Jen still thinks the reference to her nephew as a toastbaby is a spoiler!

Jen slipped and mentioned Josh playing with her nephew, Josh tried to cover it up by pretending the baby was just hangin’ around during epilogue filming. Like we don’t know better! It’s okay Jen, gush totally and completely about your adorable nephews like any auntie does! We all know what happens at the end of the book. Still, Josh’s attempt to cover it all up was quite endearing!

4. We are genuinely embarrassed by some fan Twitter handles!

Your Twitter handle is all yours… riiiight up until you include someone else’s name and make it awkward. Most Hunger Games related handles are referential without being weird, but HemsworthsHugs and Hutcherwife in there totally got the cast weirded out. And suddenly everyone who knows better than that felt awkward too. I actually facepalmed and groaned a little at the latter. Please don’t let these stars think this is representative of the whole fandom! Most of us are normal and not stalking you, we swear!

5. Katniss Everdeen is the new face of the Rhythm Nation!

JJ already covered the new “Stand With Us” propo. It was interesting, but don’t worry– the Internet made it better by making it exactly what we were all thinking just shortly after Miss Janet Jackson announced her upcoming world tour! It only took one of the Jabberjays.net staffer to post this (and about six more hours for a larger entertainment site to steal the idea and make their own).

Side note: We keep thinking of this scene from Across The Universe. We’re not saying it inspired the propo, but the two are now linked in our minds via dancing hardcore soldiers.

6. We’ve had a lot to talk about on Twitter!

According to data from the social media site, the Mockingjay Part 2 panel was THE MOST discussed event at Comic-Con via their social media outlet. Not Star Wars, not Batman v. Superman.. THE HUNGER GAMES. Daaaaamn guys, you must’ve had a lot to say.

7. We’re the only suckers who refuse to leak full trailers!

Not that we blame any of you Comic-Con attendees, of course! The Hunger Games is, in general, a very respectful fandom. They tell you not to record, you don’t record. At least the video. The audio is floating around the Internet. Also, we haven’t been to SDCC, but we’ve been to other cons that monitor the audience like hawks to make sure you’re not recording. Yeesh, it’s intimidating! But as leaks for Deadpool and Suicide Squad and X-Men: Apocalypse hit, we couldn’t help but think “DAMMIT! There wasn’t one asshole in that room willing to attempt it?!” We recognize that it’s purely selfish and we’ll get the trailer soon enough, but still we want the trailer even if we don’t expect the trailer. It’s Fandom 101!

To be clear, we don’t hate Snapchat. It’s great for sending out images and short videos of funny faces and landscapes and adorable pets and “No seriously, there’s someone walking down the street wearing THAT.”But we hate Snapchat as a promotional tool. It guarantees that everything will be short and choppy. That damn timer will be in everyscreencapforever until the studio deems fit to put it online elsewhere– and WHY DIDN’T THEY JUST DO THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE?!

Not to mention that the app is most popular among tweens and teens, so you’re really hacking up your full audience reach for a major franchise there. Sure, it makes sense for The Duff or even the Divergent series, which tend to run and advertise a little younger on the whole. But really, you’ve got one big YA franchise with a steady adult reach and ignoring that in favor of the latest teen trend is… ugh.

Thankfully, the propo ended up online very shortly after the fact:

Our first thought was “Holy lousy special effects, Batman!” But really, that’s what you’d expect from District 13. They are not, in fact, cinematic experts. Their technology and skills DO NOT EQUAL quality imagery. And then there’s the voice over, which got annoying but works in the sense that it reminds us of a commercial. This “Katniss Everdeen must be the symbol of our glorious revolution!” isn’t really all that different from the overly enthusiastic Arby’s guy (Ving Rhames, if you didn’t know!) trying to get us to buy a sandwich. There’s a product to sell here– whether it’s revolution or brown sugar bacon– and dammit, SOMEONE has got to talk it up!

This style of advertising has its pros and cons. We’re not madly in love with the in-world takes on the story, but we know that’s a big draw for other fervent fans.

Then, of course, the propo was followed by the poster to end all character posters. Motherfuckin’ Katniss Everdeen on the motherfuckin’ throne!

Gah, we love this image. LOVE IT. There is nothing at all wrong with adding some color to the Mockingjay suit. The red against the all white background! Katniss’ resting bitch face! It’s deliriously perfect.

A few lucky fansites were given an early preview of this massive undertaking over the weekend! Kait and JJ attended the event (though JJ very skillfully avoided all the cameras). Now, we’re breaking down everything you need to know if you’re considering a visit to what seems like the franchise’s very first East Coast attraction!

Without any further ado…

THE COSTUMES AND SETS

Yes, all the major costumes and set pieces are there, perfectly positioned and lit in all their glory. You’ll be tons of familiar outfits, designs, and set arrangements. You’ll also see so things you didn’t notice in the films. For instance, did you know Effie was wearing these shoes in District 13?!

We’ve never seen them before and it’s tragic!

The costumes are spectacular, but there’s also full set pieces to adore. They’re set up in ways you’d easily recognize the film and pretty dazzling up close. For example, the Hob set in full of props that look faded and distressed, but seeing it all in person adds a whole new dimension to it. As you end with one section and walk into another, you’re usually turning a corner to find a massive, beloved scene RIGHT IN YOUR FACE. It was enough to make us squeal, even enough to make some others get all teary-eyed!

Also, Josh, Jen, Willow, Jena, and Francis went through the exhibit yesterday, the day after the fansites. They touched what we touched. WE PRACTICALLY EXCHANGED FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS. Just kidding, but it’s still pretty awesome!

INTERACTIVE FEATURES

If you’ve gone to an exhibition for Harry Potter and/or The Lord of the Rings, you probably think you know the drill by now. What you’re NOT accounting for are the boatload of unique interactive features that make this stand out, even for people who are not super familiar with the series (you know, in case you bring a mostly clueless friend or parent along!)

INTERACTIVE AUDIO DEVICE
When you enter the exhibition, you’ll be given a handy cell phone sized device. It seems like it’s just an audio guide, but there’s lots to do with it! Namely, it finds “Hidden Spots” throughout the exhibit that unlock deleted scenes and show how the props in front of you. They also pull up holographic maps, allow you to take pictures, and give you a special ally with whom you can explore!
POLLING STATIONS
Every here and there, you’ll find polling stations that ask how you would react in certain Hunger Games style situations. Turn the lever and your vote is counted– a pellet falls into a glass cylinder. Then you can examine the cylinders to see how your vote compares to others.

THE TRAIN TO THE CAPITOL
Be prepared for your photo op! Get cozy in the back of the train to the Capitol, where Katniss and Peeta worked out their tentative friendship in Catching Fire, and snap a pic! Built-in screens give the illusion that you too are headed to the Capitol.

Kait with Adam from HG Fireside Chat and Brittany from Down With The Capitol

INTERVIEW WITH CAESAR
Caesar Flickerman is one hell of an interviewer, even when his head is a television screen! You can stop and have a photo op with The Capitol’s favorite television host but be warned, those fancy seats are really hard to sit upright in!

Also, it’s hard to get his face to show up at certain angles!

FIGHT TRAINING
Think you got the moves? A movie stunt coordinator is ready to test them! See how well you can learn and bust out a quick defensive sequence used in the films. It’s harder than you think!

JOIN THE MOCKINGJAY’S PROPO
A special station in the Mockingjay section of the museum allows you to choose your setting and record a propo message in support of the Rebellion! Your image will then show up on the big ol’ HD TV screen behind you.
YOUR VERY OWN TRIBUTE PARADE
It’s your turn to join the Tribute Parade! Instead of explaining, here’s a video of me and Down With The Capitol’s Ellie making fools of ourselves for good old fashioned fun! Shelve it under “So horrible that it’s actually kind of amazing.”

THE GIFT SHOP

At the end of the road, we hit the gift shop!

Like most, there’s lots of items in here that seem a bit random, like mints and “Capitol confections” that are just regular candies bottled up pretty. But there’s also some really awesome stuff, exclusive mug and t-shirt designs, Buttercup plushes, Tim Palen’s new photo book, and jewelry ranging from simple ($5 arrow ring) to “SERIOUSLY.. WHO THROWS AROUND MONEY LIKE THAT?!”($7400 diamond encrusted gold Mockingjay pendant necklace.)

Disappointing news– the Katniss Cowl is in the gift shop, but it costs $130. Yup, the mass produced version is just as much as (if not more than) most Etsy sellers. We just want to own a Katniss Cowl and still pay off our student loan debt in a timely fashion, Lionsgate!

For a small fortune, all this can be yours!

And so ends our adventure. If you’re a Hunger Games lover and you’re heading to New York City this year, we highly recommend it!

You’ve probably noticed that there’s been lots of goodness from The Hunger Games Exhibition all around the web, including over on our Instagram page. Now, we’re sharing all the photos from our Hunger Games Exhibition with you!

If you like these glimpses, stay tuned for a detailed report on the super fun exhibition!

Kait with Adam from HG Fireside Chat and Brittany from Down With The Capitol

We’ve already got a “teaser” for Mockingjay Part 2, which was trailer length but WE’RE NOT COMPLAINING. Now it’s time to prepare for the theatrical trailer!

See, we know it’s out there! Some lucky folks in Spain got to see it today as part of Cine Europe, which is an event for studio types and film distributors that’s similar to CinemaCon. There isn’t too much description out there yet, but there was ONE gem in the reports:

J-Law was like “I’ll take it in RED, plzkthx.” (No, not really.)

Come November, Katniss will be rocking a red Mockingjay suit!

You may be thinking back to April right now. Because in April, Funny Or Die released a gif of Jennifer Lawrence in a red Mockingjay suit talking into a banana as if it were a cell phone. We assumed nothing of the suit, only that it was a discolored imitation of the suit from the films. Hell, it’s Funny or Die! They clearly weren’t being serious!

Buuuuuuut then Lionsgate started asking that all the image be taken down pronto. From all the places. At the time, we just assumed this was Lionsgate getting antsy over their ownership of all things even kinda sorta mentioning the series and shrugged it off as silly. LO AND BEHOLD, THERE WAS A SECRET IN HERE!

Lionsgate nixed the images, so we can’t post them here, but the Internet is a vast entity where nothing ever disappears, especially if you check tumblr. Just sayin’!

Now to the big question — WHY ADD A RED MOCKINGJAY SUIT?

Artistic flair, we suppose! To give the audience something they didn’t expect and make Katniss stand out. We would assume it was used for was the execution scene if we didn’t already see that in the teaser. Maybe it’s another propo outfit designed to make her stand out more on screen. In which case, goal achieved!

To be clear, we give zero fucks about the additional of this suit. It’s actually pretty cool and not everything is always going to be straight off the page. We’ve been blessed with pretty minimal changes throughout the series and the color of an outfit in now way changes the plot. So yeesh, naysayers, calm yourselves before you pop a vein or something, ‘kay?

It’s More Of A Crimson, Anyway. The Crimsonjay!The Girl With The Pearl

Look, we get it. 3D is a big thing. Some people really like it and in the grand scale of things, it’s revolutionized the way that audiences view and appreciate films in recent years. But can we just say…

THANK GOODNESS MOCKINGJAY PART 2 WON’T HAVE THAT BS!

Yes, 3D is amazing, but only when it’s done right.

Personal favorite 3D experience!

There’s two ways 3D comes about:1) The film is intended to be a vast visual experience from the get-go and the director and studio agree to shoot the film with 3D technologies and that style in mind.2) The studio decides to convert the film to 3D in post, creating a lesser quality version that adds little to the film and gives some people headaches.

The Hunger Games franchise uses the latter. Why? We assume it’s because 3D ticket prices are higher, driving up overall profits when people inevitably get lured in by the idea of seeing the biggest, “best” version of the film. But in recent years, audiences have wised up to the conversion method most studios use and 3D sales have declined. And ya know, those tickets are effing expensive!

Sadly, this guy was only available in Fake 3D.

Don’t get us wrong, there are some GREAT 3D films out there. But we weren’t planning Mockingjay Part 2 in IMAX 3D because we weren’t about to pay extra for poorly converted nausea. Now, we’re really, really excited to see it in IMAX 2D without the silly, unnecessary “effects”. We’re just bummed that IMAX versions are still only being offered in 3D for the rest of the world!

So movie studios, know this– We’re not total fools. If you’re not going to commit to REAL 3D for your films, don’t come at us with the cheap conversion. We don’t want it!